SpaceX and Tesla Form Merger Committees as SpaceX Posts $14.6B Quarter

SpaceX and Tesla have each formed special board committees to evaluate a potential merger of the two Elon Musk-controlled companies, Musk disclosed on SpaceX's first-ever video earnings call in October 2026. Musk, who serves as CEO of both companies, said he is not sitting on either committee conducting the review, and emphasized that any deal would ultimately go to a shareholder vote. He stopped short of announcing a transaction, noting no agreement on terms has been reached, but said he sees significant strategic merit in combining the two enterprises.

The merger disclosure came at the tail end of a call dominated by blockbuster financial results. SpaceX reported $14.6 billion in third-quarter revenue, a staggering 160%-plus increase year-over-year — growth driven primarily by its AI segment, with additional contributions from its space and satellite connectivity businesses. The company posted a $4.4 billion profit, marking its first reported profit as a public company.

Capital expenditures surged to $19.6 billion for the quarter, nearly triple the $6.9 billion spent in the same period a year prior, signaling aggressive infrastructure investment as SpaceX scales its AI and satellite operations. Revenue came in ahead of Wall Street analyst expectations, sending SpaceX shares up more than 4% in after-hours trading. Tesla shares gained roughly 1% on the merger news.

A SpaceX-Tesla combination would be one of the most consequential corporate mergers in recent memory, uniting the world's largest private rocket and satellite-internet company with the leading electric vehicle and energy storage manufacturer. Both companies share deep technological overlaps in AI, energy systems, and autonomous hardware — but the merger faces obvious complexity given Musk's dual role and the inherent conflict-of-interest questions that independent board committees are designed to address.